Tenant clogged sewer 3x in 3 months

[Brock Bonnicksen]

I have an issue with a tenant repetitively clogging the sewer, and requiring a plumber to unclog each time. The first two times I hired the plumber and covered the costs. The plumber believes it is an issue with use - flushing too much, or things that shouldn’t be flushed. At this point I’m unsure what to do since it’s not an issue with the actual sewer. Do I notify the tenant that they need to hire the plumber to unclog? I have attached a copy of that section of my lease agreement, which specifies MAJOR repairs are landlord responsibility and MINOR repairs are tenant responsibility. If anyone has any thoughts on how I should approach this, please provide feedback. Thanks!

[John Kunick]

Originally posted by @Brock Bonnicksen:

I have an issue with a tenant repetitively clogging the sewer, and requiring a plumber to unclog each time. The first two times I hired the plumber and covered the costs. The plumber believes it is an issue with use - flushing too much, or things that shouldn’t be flushed. At this point I’m unsure what to do since it’s not an issue with the actual sewer. Do I notify the tenant that they need to hire the plumber to unclog? I have attached a copy of that section of my lease agreement, which specifies MAJOR repairs are landlord responsibility and MINOR repairs are tenant responsibility. If anyone has any thoughts on how I should approach this, please provide feedback. Thanks!

Hi Brock, I've had almost the exact same situation. The key was I had
proof of what was clogging the sewer since, the third time the sewer was
clogged, we sent a camera down the line to see what was obstructing
it. Lo and behold, their young kids had flushed some small plastic toys
down a toilet and they caused an obstruction that led to continual
clogs. So, we had to have them dig up the sewer line at the point of
where the clog was and physically remove the toys (an industrial
strength snake was attempted first but could not break up the toys so
they would pass). This was a big ticket expense that the tenant could
not pay up front. The agreement I made with the tenant is I would pay
for the job up front, but he would pay me an extra per month fee until
the total reimbursement was achieved. Fortunately, they have re-paid
the full amount. The key was having the proof and getting the tenant to
understand it was his "negligence" that caused the issue.

Don't know if this will help you in your situation, but good luck..